Sofa bed



`Axllg. 16, 1932. Q 5 MQECKEL SOFA BED Filed oct. 9, 1950 2 sheets-Sheet 1 EL?. E7.

uig. 16, 1932. Q 5 MOECKELA. 1,871,817

SOFA BED Filed oct. 9, 1930 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Aug. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT carica CLARENCE SUES MOECKEL, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA,` ASS'GNOR TO SOUTHERN SPRENG* BED COMFANY, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, A CORPORATION 0F GFORGTA SOFA BED Application led October 9, 1930. Serial No. 487,543.

This invention relates to sofa beds and particularly to the type which comprises a stationary frame and two bed sections which are pivotally connected to the frame and which are. adapted to be superposed when the bed is in folded or closed position and to occupy horizontally aligned positions when the bed is extended.

The general object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism for pivotally connecting the bed sections with theframe and with each other for simultaneous movement from `their respective closed positions to the positions they occupy when the sofa is extended for use as a double bed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel means for alternately sup- Y with a portion of the frame broken away to show the operating mechanism.

Figure 2 is a plan view of one end of the bed in extended position.

Figure 3 is a view in end elevation similar to Figure 1, the bed, however, being in eX- tended position.

Figure 4 is a perspective view on a larger scale, of certain details of the bed in closed position.

Figure 5 is a perspective view, also on a larger scale, of the common rest element for supporting the weight of portions of both the inner and outer bed sections in extended and closed positions respectively; together with the fulcrum bracket to which the levers of the bed action are attached.

Figure 6 is a detail view showing a portion of the bed action as it appears at about midway of the movement of the bed sections from one of their eXtreme positions to the other.

Referring to the drawings, my improved sofa bed is designated generally by the numeral 10, and comprises a rigid frame composed of the end boards 11, the front sill 12, the rear cross strip 1 3, the rear corner posts 14, arms 15, back 16 and feet 17.

Since the elements comprising the operating mechanism at each end of the bed are identical, except for the reversal of the parts, only one set of these mechanisms willbe described.

Secured tothe inner side of the end board 11 is a fulcrum or mounting bracket 20. rfhe forward inwardly offset end 21 of this bracket 20 is secured to the forward vportion of the board 11 by means of the L-shaped members 22 and 23, the lower flanges 24 and 25 of which are adapted to overlap and be adjustably secured to each other by means of the bolt 26 which passes through the slot 27 and the hole 28 in these overlapping flanges. Member 22 is riveted to the bracket 2O as at 29 and the upstanding flange of the bracket 23 is bolted to the end board 11 as at 80. To the rear end of the bracket 2O is riveted or otherwise secured, as at 32, the upstanding plate 33 which is perforated as at 34 for the accommodation of a bolt 35 or other securing means for connecting the rear end of the bracket to the end board 11.

Near the top of this plate 33 is secured the flanged rest member 86, the horizontal portionv of which is downwardly and rearwardly curved as at 37. The lower end of this portion 37 is provided with a perforation 38, the purposcof which will be later described.

The movable portions of the sofa bed comprise essentially the alternatively inner or lower bed section 40 and the upper or outer bed section 41. The relative positions of these sections in extended and clos-ed positions will be readily perceived from Figures 1,2 and 3 of the drawings. The rigid frames of the section 40 comprise the end angle iron strips 42, the rear angle iron strip 48 having an upwardly extending flange 44 and the front strip 45 which is V-shaped in crosssection, except at the ends which are flatflu tened as at 46 and secured to the end angles 42 by means of the rivets 47. Corner braces 48 and parallel cross strips 49 are provided, as indicated in Figure 2. A plurality of coil springs 50 and the upper rim member 51 are provided as in the usual construction of this type.

rl"lie upper or outer bed section 41 is similarly constructed, except that the front angle strip 52 is provided with a down 'turned flange 53 to which is secured lthe movable front board 54 which in closed position is adapted to rest upon the sill 12, as shown in Figure 1. Also, the upper rim 55 ,of the "spring construction is somewhat longer than the c orvresponding rim '51 of the inner or `lo'v'verfsection, as lclearly indicated in Figure 2. vThe outer section 41 is also provided with a ipair of legs 57 which are laterally oifset as at 58 and are preferably provided with the rubber feet 59.

The essential movable-elements of the bed action by Whichthe sections 40 and 41 are pivotally securedto the rigidframe comprise the substantially 'L-shaped levers '60 vand .61.

T he end o'f the longer arm of the rear lever 60 lis pivoted to the end member 42 of the upper bed section 41 as at 62, near the rearend of said member. The end oftheshort arm of thc rear lever l60 is pivoted to 'the inwardly offset portion '2'1 of the fulcruinvbracket 2O as at 63, andthe elbow Vor angular portion of the lever '60 ispivotallyfsecured to the end member 42 of the lower bed section 40 at a f point 64'to Vtherighthand side-of the center of 'said end member 42. The lever 60 isallso provided With 'an' outwardly offset portion 65, the purpose of which Will he later eX- plained. The short end of the lever 60 is also odsetoutwardly as at 66.` About midway of the short arm of the lever 60, there is pivoted a lug67 toWhich one end of the spring 68 `is adapted to be secured. The other `end of this spring 68 is connected to the down turned end 37 of the rest member 36 by means of -tlie perforation 38.

The `forward lever 61 has its vlonger arm 'bentas at'ZO for a ypurposeto be later described. The short arm of this leverf61 is offset loutwardly asi at 1. The end Vof the long arm ofthe lever 61 is pivoted to the end member 42 of the upper oroutersection 41 as at 72, this pointof pivotal connection being vto the left ofthe centerioftlie end member 42.

The end of the short arm of :lever A61 is pivotally connected to the forward end of the bracket 2Ov as' at? 5. The elbow lof lever 61 is pivoted at 7 6 to the righthand end of theend similar lug upon the correspondinglever at the other Yend of 'the 'bedby 'means of the tie rod 78.

'Figure 1 clearl disclosesthepositions of and 'spring 68 which shows the spring in fully contracted position after it has assisted inthe initial portion of the opening niove nient. During the continuation of the opening movement from tlis dead center position, the spring is again expanded as the outer bed fs'e'ction 41 is lowered to the floor. Referring to the extended position of the bied illustrated .in Figures'2 and 3, it Will be'seen that'the spring'68 is again under tension and in readiness to assist inthe closing movement of the 'bed back to the dead center position shown in Figure 6.

The purpose of the outward lateral offset portion 65 of the lever 60 Will be apparent from an inspection of Figures 2 and 3. It`4 will beiseen that this portion 65, in vthe eX- tended position of the bed, is adapted to enclose the elbow portion ofthe lever 61 against Wliichthe'lever 60 would abut were it not for the-provision of this offset portion. Simi# "larly, the'bent portion 70 vof the lever l61 is provided kto accommodate the end of the long arm 'of lever 60 in this extended position.

An important :feature of the invention is the provision of means for supporting the inner side of the outer section 41 in-extended position. This is afforded by the designing of vthe lever v61 so that the forward end yof the long'arm of ylever 60 will vrest upon the upper edge of the 'long arm of the 'lever 61 as at" the point 80. Of course, the outerjs'ide 'of the bed section 41 is adequately supported by the legs 57.

'Upon the inner end of the end member 42 Y'ofthe lower or inner section 40 there is provided the Voutwardly extending pin 82, and 'at the outer endofthe lateral offset portion 65 of the lever l6() is provided a similar .pin 83.

A s clearly shown in Figure 1, the pin 83 -is Iadaptedto rest upon the rest member-36 cari ried by the bracket 2O and thus providesthe sole means of supporting the rear si desof the bed sections when in closed position. lVhen the sofa bed is opened. the pin 83 describes an arc about the center 63 which is shown diagrammaticallv in Figure 3 and designated by .the numeral 85. During the 4saine time that the pin 83 moves through the arc 85, the pin 82 rises from the position shown in Figure 1 (and indicated by the numeral 86 in Figure '3) movingalong the arc 87 to occupy the position upon the rest 36'Wliich has just been vacated by 'the pin 83. It Will thus be seen that the rest 36 performs the dual function of supporting vthe inner sides of the'lovverfor inner section 40 when the sofa bed is in extended position and of providing a support for the rear portions of the bed sections when they are in folded position. Rubber sleeves 90 may be placed around the pins 82 and 83 for the purpose of deadening the sound caused by the contact of these pins with the rest member 36.

It will be seen from Figure 3 that, in extended position, the pivot points 64 and 76 of the inner bed section lie practically directly above their respective fulcrum points 63 and 75 thus providing a substantial support for the forward portion of the rear or inner bed section which support is, of course, made sufficiently rigid by the abutment of the levers and 6l at 80.

Of course, the framework of the sofa bed 10 is adapted to be covered and upholstered in a suitable manner, and straps or other means may be provided in connection with the outer bed section 4l for the purpose of manually moving the bed sections from one of their extreme positions to the other.

It will thus be seen that by means of the present invention, there has been provided an improved and simplified sofa bed movementV in which rigid and substantial supporting means are provided, with a great economy of parts and material and in which the elements cooperate to assist the extension and folding of the bed to great advantage.

It will be understoo-d thatvarious changes and modifications can be made in the embodiment herein illustrated and described within the scope of thepresent invention as defined in the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a sofa bed, in combination, a stationary frame, two bed sections pivotally connected thereto for movement to and from folded and extended positions and a support having a common rest portion for alternately supporting corresponding portions of said bed sections in said respective positions, said common rest portion comprising a vertical bracket secured to said stationary frame and having an inwardly extending horizontal iiange providing a seat for said portions of the bed sections, a portion of said flange being downwardly curved to provide clearance for one of said sections during its pivotal movement.

2. In a sofa bed, in combination, a stationary frame, a supporting bracket at each end thereof, two bed sections pivotally connected to said bracket and to each other for bodily movement through successive horizontal planes to and from folded and extended positions, and a common rest member associated with each of said brackets for alternately supporting corresponding portions of said bed sections in said respective positions. Y Y

3. In a sofa bed, in combination, a stationary frame, two bed sections adapted to be moved to and from folded and extended positions, levers for pivotally connecting said bed sections to said frame and t'o each other, an element carried by each end of one of said bed sections, another element associated with each end of the other section, and a member having a common rest portion occupying a single horizontal plane for alternately engaging said elements in folded and extended positions of the sofa bed'respectively.

4. In a sofa bed, in combination, a stationary frame, a supporting bracket secured thereto at each end thereof, two bed sections adapted to be moved to and from folded and extended positions, a pair of levers disposed at each end of said bed for pivotally connecting said bed sections to said frame and to each other, an element carried byeach end of one of said bed sections, an element carried by one lever of each of said pairs at a point adjacent its pivotal connection with the other bed section, and a common rest member associated with each of said brackets foralternately engaging said elements in folded and extended positions of the sofa bed respectively.

5. In a sofa bed provided with a stationary frame, and two bed sections pivotally connected thereto, which are adapted to be superposed when in closed position, the upper one in said position being movable outwardly to extended position and the lower one being. movable upwardly to a position in the same horizontal plane as the outwardly moved section, in combination, a supporting bracket secured to said frame at each end thereof, a

lpair of L-shaped levers disposed at each end of said bed, the ends of the long arms of said levers being pivotally connected to the ends of said upper section, the angle portions of said L-shaped levers being pivotally connected to the ends of said lower section, and the ends of the short arms of said L-shaped levers being connected to said bracket, a rest member associated with said bracket, an outwardly projecting pin carried by each end of said lower bed section, and a similar outwardly projecting pin upon the long arm of one of the L-shaped levers of each pair near the point of pivotal connection of said lever with said upper bed section, said first named pin adapted to rest upon said rest member when said bed is in extended position and said second named pin adapted to rest upon said rest member when said bed is in folded position.

6. In a sofa bed, in combination, a stationary frame, two bed sections adapted to be moved bodily through successive parallel, horizontal, intermediate positions to and from folded and extended positions, levers for pivotally connecting said bed sections to said frame and to each other, an element carlried by each end of one of said bedsections, another element'associated witheach end oit' the other section, and a 'member having a. common rest portion occupying a single hori- 'zontal .plane for alternately engaging said elements in folded and extended positions of the sofa bed respectively.`

7. In a lsofa bed, in combination, a sta-V tionary frame, two bed sections pivotally conne-cted thereto and adapted to bemoved to 'and from folded and extended positions,

said sections when in extended positions adapted to occupy the same horizontal plane,

end trame members forming part of each of said sections, a pair of l.shaped levers disposed at each end of said'bed, the ends of the short arms of said levers being pivotally connected to said frame at horizontally spaced points, the ends of the long arms of said levers being pivotally connected to an k'end and an intermediate portion of'one ot the end frame members of the outer bed section, and the angle portions of said levers being respectively pivotally `connected to an intermediate portion and an end of one ol' the end frame members of the inner bed section, aA portion of the longer arm of one of the levers of each pair being osetlaterally to overlap the angle portion of the other lever when said sections are in aligned eX- 'tended positions,` a portion of the long arm of the last named lever of each pair being downwardly oifset to provide a support for the end of the long Varm ofthe other lever near its pivotal connection with the end of the end member of the outer lsection and thus to support the inner side of the outer bed section when the sections are in aligned extended positions.

In testimony whereof I signature.

CLARENCE SUES MOE Glpi-EL.

hereunto aflix my 

